80 days until check-in!65 days until check-in!30 days until check-in!24 hours until check-in!

I was more than ready to go at the 24-hour point. The Blushing Books RT pre-conference was happening in Atlanta and I'd moved a lot of pieces to make sure I was in the mix. Friends I only knew from online, fellow authors I admired, and author friends I haven't seen in months were all going to be in the same place and for the same purpose, and I had zero intention on missing out.

Many of us have day jobs, alternate egos that adult in a different way and on a different level, but for a creative spirit like me that persona is often drained at this point in the year. This journey was a renewal of energy, and spirit. It was my time to learn, instead of teach.

We started with the Blushing Authors meet and greet:

Followed by a late night dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe!

The next day was all about the craft of writing books, selling books, and promoting books. Everything was geared toward making us all better. An added bonus was the stimulating conversation about grammar, which took on a whole new meaning when the sample sentences had words like "spanking" and "orgasm" in it!

Day 2 brought guest speaker, Kathryn Falk, who was a delight, full of charming stories and advice for the next direction in romance writing. We enjoyed dinner at a local southern restaurant where we stuffed our selves with catfish, fried chicken, peach cobbler, and sweet tea.

Some of us even managed a game night sleepover, where a Mulan sing along took place. Yup, that happened. It was a whirlwind four days, with almost the same number of days spent in the air, but worth every hour.